By nurturing and encouraging girls' early interest in STEM and making it fun for them, we can keep them engaged, help them perform better in school and ultimately, encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields.

By helping girls gain confidence and relationship skills and providing them with the tools necessary to advocate for themselves and others, we are developing leaders who build consensus, resolve conflicts and bridge divides between people

The fact that women were instrumental in shaping the agreement that broke through the gridlock demonstrates beautifully why we need more women in positions of leadership in Washington and around the world in order to bring insight and balance to our greatest challenges.

This year, Day of the Girl happens to fall on the same day that the Nobel Committee will announce the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. It's fitting that on this important day, a young girl could make history by becoming the youngest person ever to win the coveted award.

Volunteers are and will remain the backbone of our movement. At Girl Scouts, we are innovating new ways to reach and engage the adults who will help us create the next generation of female leadership in America.

Like so many young girls through the years, Girl Scouting taught me that diversity was a gift. I learned that I could celebrate my heritage and hold on to what made me unique, even as I met new people and learned about new cultures.

You can imagine my surprise last week when I read a op-ed in the The Washington Post that the organization I lead, the Girl Scouts of the USA, is a "separate but not equal group," to the Boy Scouts of America.

Fighting human trafficking has become one of the great civil and human rights issues of our generation. That is why yesterday, August 1, I participated in a convening of the NGO community in Washington D.C., to discuss the issue of trafficking.

The cultural landscape of America is shifting, and girls are caught in the middle. Peer pressure and media depictions of women are discouraging girls from taking leadership positions in their schools and communities. Their future success will depend on their ability of lead.